"You know, you should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it, it's candy land."

"Thanks, but last time I was in New York I kind of broke Harlem."

I laugh and continue working.

"Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tensions. No surprise."

The doors open and Steve walks in. He looks angry.

"Ow!" Bruce shouts, grabbing my attention. I turn to see Tony watching Bruce closely.

"Nothing?"

"Are you nuts?" Steve asks.

"You really have a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"

"Is everything a joke to you?"

I shake my head, "Okay, stop." I hate fights and arguments, especially petty ones.

""Funny things are."

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny." Steve snaps, "No offense, doctor."

"No, it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

"You're tiptoeing, big man, you need to strut." Tony says, waving his little electrical prod around.

"Tony, enough." I say.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark." Steve says angrily.

I feel a small tension grow in my neck as I pick up Delvameg.

"You think I'm not? Why did Fury call us and why now? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

"You think Fury's hiding something." Steve asks.

"Of course he is." I say.

"He's a spy, Captain. He's the spy, his secrets have secrets." Tony points to me, "She gets it."

"A warm light to all mankind." I say, "Loki's claim to Fury concerning the cube."

"Well," Bruce says to Tony, "I believe that was pointed at you."

"Stark Tower? That big ugly building in New York?" Steve asks, provoking Tony a bit further.

"It's powered by arc reactors; it's completely self-sufficient, right?" I ask.

"That's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now."

"So why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. call him in for the Tesseract project?" Bruce asks inquires, "Why are they even in the energy business?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of Shield's secure files."

Steve gets an uneasy look on his face, "I'm sorry, did you say-"

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret Shield has ever tried to hide." He holds out a bag to me, "Blueberries?"

"No, I prefer strawberries."

"Yet you're confused about they didn't want you around."

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence." Tony says sarcastically, "Historically not possible."

"I think Loki is out to start a war-"

I cut Steve off, "Exactly. Loki wants nothing more than for us to tear each other apart so he can take the Earth that much sooner."

Steve looks at me then back to Tony, "We have orders, we should follow them."

"Following isn't really my style."

"And you're all about style, aren't you?"

"Of the people in this room which one is; A. Wearing a spangly outfit and B. Not of use?"

"Tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?" Bruce asks.

Steve storms out the room, "Just find the cube."

After he leaves Tony turns to me, "That's the guy my dad never shut up about?"

"That's something the two of you have in common." I say.

"What's that?"

"You never shut up." I say blandly before perching myself onto the counter.

"She's not wrong." Bruce says with a smile.

Tony gives me a dirty look and continues working. I pull a screen in front of me and start working myself, ignoring everything around me. Tony and Bruce continue talking, but I continue to ponder how Loki managed to break my infinity stone, how he is able to use it.

Perhaps, when I fell, the Stone broke partially. Hitting the ground that hard, it certainly seems like an idea. When Shield picked me up, they collected Delvameg but not the scraps.

The doors of the lab open to a very furious director, "What are you doing, Mr. Stark?"

"Uh, kind of been wondering the same thing about you." Tony says.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract."

"We are. The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."

"And you'll get your cube back." Tony says.

"It's going back to Asgard." I correct.

Steve walks in behind Fury and slams a gun onto the table, "Good, because Shield was going to use the cube to make weapons." He looks to Tony, "Sorry, but the computer was moving a little slow for me."

Tony sends him a 'good-job- it's-okay' look.

"Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesserect, this doesn't mean that we're-"

Tony turns his monitor around to face Fury, "I'm sorry. What were you lying?" The screen displays missiles and other weapons powered by the Tesseract.

"I was wrong, director, the world hasn't changed a bit."

Thor and Natasha walk in. Bruce looks to her, anger overflowing in his expression, "Did you know about this?"

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?"

"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed."

I retreat back to my station and I pick up Delvameg, holding it close to my side.

"I'd like to know why Shield is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"Because of them!" Fury points at Thor and me.

"Excuse me?" I growl.

"Us?"

"Last year, Earth had some visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that we are not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

"We want nothing but peace." Thor says.

"But you're not the only people out there are you? You're not the only threat. World's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve interjects.

Tension builds inside of me, the argument making me anxious. My Father looks to Fury, "Your work with the cube is what drew Loki and his allies to it. It is the signal too all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"A higher form?" Steve asks.

The argument builds and so do my nerves, my palms start to sweat and my grip on Delvameg gets tighter and tighter with every statement.

Tony wraps his arm around Steve, "Why shouldn't we let the guy let off a little steam?"

Steve pushes Tony off of him, "You know damn well why! Back off!"

Tony gets into Steve's face and they continue to bicker, "Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."

"Big man in a suit of armor, take that away and what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

I close my eyes and try to step away from them, but I only manage to get into another argument, "Agent Romanoff, would you like to escort Dr. Banner back to his-"

"Where? You rented my room."

"That was just in case-"

"What?" Bruce snaps, "In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried!"

The argument stops as Bruce continues, "I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out! SO I moved on. I helped other people. I was good, until you dragged me back to this freak show and put everyone here at risk!"
I step towards the middle of the room, heading for the door way, trying to escape the noise.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it."

Tony starts to leave.

"You're not going alone!" Steve shouts.

"You gonna stop me?"

"Put on the suit- let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

"ENOUGH!" I scream, letting off a pulse of blue Energy that knocks every back. They all stare at me for a moment before the ship lurches to the right, causing me to join them on the floor. Bruce and Natasha fall through a huge gap in the floor.

"Put on the suit!"

"Yep!" Tony shouts back at Steve as they exit.

"Ivanna, what did you do?" My Father asks.

"It wasn't me!" I say, summoning Delvameg to me. I stand up and use Delvameg to help support me. My vision blurs and I feel light headed. I take a deep breath and stumble toward the door.

"Coulson! Initiate official lock down!" Fury shouts into his earpiece.

I lean into the doorway and take a moment to recover. I quickly start moving when an ear-piercing roar comes from the hole in the lab floor. I turn back into the lab and jump down into the hole.

Pieces of the laboratory sit as a pile of rubble on the floor. Another deafening roar shakes my insides. I see no sign of Natasha, but plenty signs of the Hulk.

I quickly run towards the beast. As I near, I notice a glimpse of red hair fly across the room. I pull out Delvameg and swing at the Hulk. A long war hammer builds momentum and knocks the green monster to the floor.

I pull Natasha up and send her on her way; she doesn't argue.

The towering creature manages to get to his feet, standing over me, ready to strike. He pulls back his hand, ready to strike, and I ready myself for the battle. He slams his fist down onto Delvameg, pushing it down on me, but I return the force and struggle to keep from being crushed.

I manage enough strength to push the green fist off of me. I swiftly travel a few feet back and wait for the Hulk to make another move. He roars at me, and then he charges. I dodge the attack and slide under the creature of mass destruction.

He turns around, confused and angrier than before. I muster enough magic to beckon my armor. My body shimmers with a bright light before covering itself in rare Uru armor. The black cape and metal encase me, just as the Hulk slams his fists down.

I bring the hammer up, just a second too late. He has too much momentum for me to stop. I slow down the blow and close my eyes, waiting for the moment that I perish.

The green mountain vanishes right before I reach Valhalla. A loud crash sounds through the wall and destroys it.

I quickly get up, pulling myself up and going through the hall. My Father and the Hulk fight, much like we did. Hulk swings and misses, making him more and more furious. My Father hitting each time, but quickly moving out of the beast's way.

The Hulk brings down an arm, but Thor catches it, and quickly wraps it around the monster's neck.

"We are not your enemies, Banner! Try to think!"

He obviously thinks about his next move; he flings his arm, sending my Father sprawling across the room. I quickly head into the brawl. I turn Delvameg into its original form. The Hulk turns to me, breathing heavily.

"Come on!" I scream.

He charges at me, and I at him.

We clash, blue energy and green fists flying.

I put both hands on my staff and quickly turn, sending the end into the Hulk's face. A loud crack can be heard throughout the boat, and he falls backward, but only for a second. He reaches back and grabs a crate, with a flick of his wrist the box flies towards me.

What have I done?

Mjolnir interjects, sending the crate through the wall.

I look over to my Father, who stands, wiping away the blood that drips from his nose.

"Thanks." I say, before I'm sent flying through the wall, and not through the gaping hole, either. Through the very solid wall that only breaks because my armor is far stronger.

I lay in the floor of another room. It takes good while for my vision to return, but when it does, I manage to flip over onto my side. Just in time, as I puke up blood and other assorted liquids. I cough as I wipe my face with my sleeve.

I get to my feet, slowly, but surely.

"That must've hurt." Loki says from behind the glass walls of his container.

"Shut up." I rasp.

"You know, you're a lot less fun when you're angry."

"You're a lot more annoying when you're locked in a cylindrical container." I say, spitting out another glop of blood.

He chuckles, "I miss our little chats."

I shake my head, "Maybe you should have considered that before you pierced my stomach with Gungnir."

"I suppose."

Another person enters the room and shoots me. The pitiful projectiles ricochet off of my armor without leaving a mark. I send a wave of blue energy at them, sending them flying back into a wall, I turn to Loki, "If that's the best you can do-"

The ship turns violently, slamming me into the floor.

Somehow, the door to his cell opens, just as Thor runs into the room.

"No!" He bellows, running into the container, attempting to contain Loki.

"Don't-" I yell, but it's too late. Loki disappears and reappears next to the control panel. He seals the door behind him.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" Loki asks with amusement.

I quickly get to my feet, but I quickly get knocked back to the ground by another Loki. He holds the scepter above me, and I can feel the poisoned stone hovering above me.

"The humans think us immortal, shall we test that?" Loki says, hovering over a red button, ready to eject the container off of the ship.

"Move away, please."Coulson says, aiming a huge and interestingly shaped gun at Loki, who backs away with his hands away from the panel.

"You like this? We designed it shortly after you sent the destroyer. Even I don't know what it does."

The Loki standing over me vanishes, as does the one by the control panel.

A sudden gasp empties the room of any noise.

A wickedly curved blade protrudes Coulson's chest; blood dripping off the tip.

As Loki rips back through him, Coulson falls against the wall.

I get to my feet, and I charge at Loki.

I am not fast enough.

Before I can stop him, he pushes the button and the cage in the middle of the room freefalls.

"NO!" I scream.

A red beam shoots across the room and knocks Loki flat.

"So, that's what it does." Coulson says weakly.

I rush over to him and put pressure on the wound, but I know it's too late. Even if it were me, it would be too late.

Fury comes in and takes my spot.

I sit and with tears in my eyes. The world collapsing in on me, slowly but surely.

"It's okay, boss. This was never going to work... if they didn't have..." Coulson tries to say with his last breath.

"If we didn't have pain." I say to myself.